Merry Christmas Card

Twas the week before Christmas and at the Hickey house

Annacaye packed in suit cases the size for a mouse.

Scott’s suits were hung in travel bags with great care

In hopes the air line won’t lose them between here and there.

The tickets are purchased without sense of dread

As visions of polar bears dance in our heads.

With Scott in his white coat and I in my fur cap

 We decided to download the Alaska weather app.

When at once on facebook there came such a smatter

I opened my profile to see what’s the matter.

Away from my news feed I clicked in a flash

I checked out my updates and saw with a gasp.

Our airport of choice is walled in with deep snow

And everyone is anxious to let us know.

When to our sullen hearts good news should appear

A break in the weather to calm all our fears.

Now our trip is ready and we must be quick

For our families and friends we will be heart sick.

Wile having adventures in lands not so near

We hope to see wolves, moose, bears, and reindeer.

Oh, Michal and Brian, Terra and Chris,

Wells, Kersten, Samuel, Charla and Grace we will miss.

To our parents and friends we’ll be sure to call

Now dash away, dash away, dash away all.  

______________________________________________

We want to wish a Merry Christmas to all our friends and family near and far. We send all our love and best wishes in this New Year.

All our LOVE!

S/A

And we’ll have fun fun fun till her daddy takes the T-bird away…

Today, Scott and I each chose something we really wanted to do before we leave tomorrow. He choose to go to the beach down at Malibu. So, we did. We took Sunset Boulevard all the way through Beverly Hills (where we saw disgustingly massive houses… or fortresses) down to the Pacific. This was the first time he had seen the Pacific so I was excited for him. On the wonderful advice of our LA friends, who have yet to lead us astray, we went to the Will Rogers Memorial Beach.

At high noon we were the only people out on the beach. We walked up and down the water for a good hour until we came to rest up on a log near the surf. There is something so amazingly peaceful about the ocean. The little girl inside of me couldn’t help but watch the sun sparkle on the waves and think about a favorite childhood movie where the sparkling waves were unicorns. Yes, I am every bit that cheesy. It was a beautiful day (which I am finding to be a great pattern here in LA) and there was a blissful feeling being alone by the crashing waves.

Bliss can only last as long as a tummy can stand it though, so we eventually went off in search of food. Lunch at a little beach café was wonderful but we had other plans to keep so we had to run home and change for….

Craig Ferguson on the Late Late Show!!!

So, this was the one thing I really super-d-duper wanted to. So, we did. I don’t know who all has ever been to a talk show but I’ll give you a quick run-down of how it works. You stand outside in a line for an hour where the workers try and crack jokes to put you in a good mood. Then, you move inside where you sit on a bench for 30 minutes and wait while different workers take away your cell phones and cameras and remind you a thousand times to use the restrooms. Eventually they take you inside and you get super excited because you think, “Oh, this is it!” and you go up many flights of stairs where you… wait another 30 minutes in another line.

Side note: In this line we had to stand with the single BIGGEST creeper of all time. The workers threatened to throw him out… yeah, creeper.

Ok, all this waiting becomes a real buzz kill, so once they finally let you in the (freezing cold) studio they feed you chocolate and use a warm up comedian to put you back in a good mood. These are cheap antics but they work. By the time Craig came out I was ultra excited; which if you’ve ever been around me for more than 3.2 seconds you can imagine.

The show was great and we saw Kristen Davis from Sex and the City and Dick Cavett. Craig was his usual smooth funny self and we got to sit on the front row. No cameras were allowed so I missed out on documenting this great event but when we were done we hit up another LA staple—In and Out Burger!

Praise the Lord we don’t have an In and Out Burger in Arkansas. The amazing day was rounded out with delicious gelato and friends. Our flight takes off at 9 in the morning and life and Fayetteville shall resume.

Love to you all and see you soon,

S/A

What a day!

I would call today a super success. Scott got up and finished his meet and greets with the hospital residency big-wigs while I blissfully slept in. Not a bad start, I must say. After a great cup of joe with my wonderful hostess and friend she made a few great suggestions for what to do today. At the top of the list was the Getty Center.

If you don’t know what the Getty Center is, take a moment and go look it up. To say it is an art museum doesn’t quite capture the fullness of this place. It is A-mazing!

Scott and I drove out to the Getty for the day. The sun was shining, the sky was crystal blue, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful. The center is enormous, like beyond the largest single establishment I have ever been in my entire life. So, we decided to take a couple of tours so we could understand where we were and what we were looking at more fully.

We took a 45min architecture tour explaining the building (which is totally art in and of itself) and its architect.

After that we took the 45 minuet garden tour (which, again, is living art). Between the breath taking views and the brilliant way the center was constructed to bring the surrounding environment in to the center as art, we had spent half the day at the center and not set foot inside the doors.

During a respite on the lawn we decided to tackle the Imagining the Past in France exhibit. No pictures were allowed but we were able to look at books and artwork from the 1400’s depicting life, religion, and myth. There was a scroll explaining the time line of the world that was 15+ feet starting from the creation of the world and ending with the crusades. The detail was baffling.  

From there I really wanted to go see the Greek sculptures and painting from the 17-1900’s. Millet, Degas, Renoir, Monet, and Van Gogh were the all time high light of this little excursion. It was so strange to be standing there face to face (so to speak) with pieces of art I have studied, discussed, and been tested over. It was real. Not just another picture in a book I had to know for a class but real and inches away from me.

So much beauty inside and out and we only went into two of the 6 or 7 buildings.

After the Getty we grab a quick bite of wonderful Sushi with MK and headed home to get dolled up for a screening of a web series she is playing in. Of course it wouldn’t be LA if we didn’t go to some kind of screening or premiere. It was a blast but we were starving when we got out. Thankfully she lives around the corner form a great little 24 hour diner called Fred’s. We didn’t catch any stars there tonight but I’ve been told they frequent there often.

We couldn’t be having a more wonderful time.

Love to all,

S/A

City of Angels

Hello and welcome! Scott and I wanted to start a blog of our new adventures so our friends and family can keep up with us easily regardless our current location (which changes frequently).

Currently, I’m relaxing in our dear friend and beautiful actress, Mary Kate Wiles’, Hollywood apartment while Scott works hard to make connections at this year’s Pharmacy Mid Year Convention. He’s meeting with pharmacy hospital residency coordinators from prospective hospitals he has applied to. Some of these location include; New Hampshire, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and North Carolina. As you can see none of these are very close to our fair Arkansas, thus the blog. But none of this will be taking place until July 1^st of 2011 and there is much going to happen between now and then. Including a 3 month stint in Alaska from January 2nd to April 2nd.

Since I have never been further West than Colorado, I have been super excited to see the ever fair California. The night we arrived it was raining which put no damper on our spirits. Our lovely hostess took us to a fantastic Thai restaurant just around the corner from her apartment. Nothing warms the soul like Thai curry! The next day the sun was shining in perfect LA form and I took ever advantage of the lovely weather (since when we left Fayetteville it was a frosty 33 degrees). The neighborhood MK lives in is a safe young area with lots of little vintage shops and sinfully delicious cafés.

Ps. Figaro’s has the best crepes I’ve ever put in my mouth. Ever.

And of course it wouldn’t be a hipster part of town if I didn’t get stopped by the sea loving, tree hugging, save the world peaceniks. Of course being the girl who can’t walk away, I stopped and listened to their pitch about saving the rainforests from the evil corporations like Wal-Mart and Burger King. Ah, yes, the evils of Burger King… the evil establishment that raised me and paid for my life into my 20’s. I smiled and nodded my way though the beach boys spiel and got the free sticker he promised me at the start.

For dinner Mary Kate and I trucked it over to Malo Cantina for dollar taco night. I now have a new love for habanera creamy salsa and “chewy chips”.

Chewy chips= normal chips+ tons of grease+ tons of salt. I know I know it sounds so gross. I thought the same thing, but then I tasted it. It’s so bad (for you) it’s good. Also, I had my first star sighting… Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell Pritchett) from modern family. Later we drove up and down the strip where we saw the stars on the side walk, the Kodak Theater, some random movie shooting in the streets, the headquarters for the church of Scientology, and In and Out Burger. I feel like I’ve been having the full LA experience.

Tomorrow is the observatory and Hollywood sign. Then the next day is the Late Show with Craig Ferguson! Can I just say, I am very excited about everything. Scott has done been doing amazingly with his shmooze fest and we’re having a really great time.

Love to everyone!

S/A